Prof. Hanko is professor emeritus of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Abelard’s Doctrine of the Atonement As I said earlier, the real is-sue in the controversy over the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ was concerning the necessity of the atonement. It seems that actually the controversy involved the relation between some of God’s attributes and the suffering and death of Christ. For example, the question was asked: If God is omnipotent, could He not simply save men by His power without having to send His Son to the suffering of the cross? Or, if...